romance

Stepping into 2026

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Whew! We made it to 2026…even though it feels like we have stepped back into the 1950’s here in the US. But that’s a tangent for another day. I was so proud of myself for 2025 that I UPPED my reading goal from 50 books to 75! I’m already two books into 2026 so let’s get this party started! I’ve also planned on participating as much as possible with the Book Riot 2026 Read Harder challenge, so this will be so fun! If I read a book on that challenge, I’ll be sure to denote it here as well! If you would like to participate, the challenge is linked here. I would encourage, if you can, to also become a Book Riot member. They do send you 2 book ideas for the different challenges for free if you are not a member, but you get more if you are! Anyways, here are my first two reads of 2026!

Pucking Strong by Emily Rath

3 hockey pucks

Well. That was certainly a ride for the first book of the year! I have enjoyed the Jacksonville Rays series, Pucking Around and all the rest, and I really enjoyed this one too. For me, what makes this not a 4 or even 5 star is the unrealistic look at grief, especially for a young girl losing her mom, who is an only child to a single mother. I should know, I was one. My single mother died when I was 10 years old. It was the single most devastating moment of my life. It still is and I’m 37. I get that the story was going to be about the MMC’s love, but if Emily Rath is going to have this cataclysmic event happen to this little girl, then proceed in only showing her happy and well adjusted, then I’m afraid I have to call bullshit. Again, I get showing her going through therapy and everything isn’t fun or cute but it felt like her grief was glossed over to the point that it even seemed like Henrik and Teddy didn’t even care. She not only was there when it happened but also suffered her own injuries and trauma and the only time we see her is as an accessory or so happy it’s all sunshine and rainbows. Yes, there are some good days, but I can promise you, unless you hated your mother, no little girl losing their whole world in an instant would be so well adjusted.

Outside of that, Teddy and Henrik’s story was alright. I appreciated that it was a slow burn and not just jump into the sex and spice. The way they actually established their relationship was nice, even when I cringed when Teddy basically laid out all his feelings to Henrik at their pap dinner. Like, I get he was trying to make a point but that’s also a good way to get someone to never step up. Also, Teddy’s family, specifically his mother, sucked. Not a single one thought to actually ask him about how it all went down, they just assumed, then his mother basically disrespected him in front of Henrik?! Like the actual f?? And also, there was so much more about Henrik’s family life than Teddy’s which made the book feel very unbalanced.

Gosh, maybe I didn’t like this book as much as I thought. Which is a bummer since I liked the rest?? Ugh. Maybe I need to rest on it more or something. Either way, I didn’t hate it, it had its great moments, the epilogue stole my breath away, it was very sweet.

His Grace, The Duke by Emily Rath

3 whole men

Ok so let’s get gone thing out of the way: Emily Rath can absolutely write spice. She can even write drama!!! But for some reason, between book one and book two she couldn’t write the love between all the players in this book. There is no way that Tom the sailor was too in his head about sexuality. None. Even if he didn’t experiment, he would have seen things. Now Burke and James I get. I could see that Burke loved James and James loved Burke. And I still think that Burke really loved Rosalie. What I don’t believe is the torch Tom held for Burke. I think he certainly could have held one for James, given he always came to Alcott Hall when he was home from being away. I don’t know. I feel like in the end it was all very rushed. While I liked the book and duology as a whole, there were definitely parts that could have been fleshed out more. But in the end, it is what it is. A good romp.

Welp, there we are! My first two reads of 2026!

Final reads of 2025

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Ah! I can’t believe I made it out of my reading slump this year and read 100 books!! I am so proud of myself!! I neglected, however, to update here, simply because I didn’t want to get my computer up and running! But here are the last books of 2025 for me!

Go Luck Yourself by Sara Raasch

5 Shamrocks!

Oh goodness. I freaking loved this! I was so happy to finally read Kris’s story, especially with how badly he seemed to be in the book with Coal and Hex. This was such fun and yet, so much happened. The progression of hate from Loch and his one sister to them both absolutely adoring Kris was hilarious. I really loved Loch’s character too. He knew what he wanted and also knew he couldn’t have it? Very different from Hex, who was a very submissive character. Even Kris wasn’t that bad. I will definitely keep these as Christmas book rotations in the coming years.

Big Nick Energy by Morgan Elizabeth

4 Christmas Stockings!

Well this was adorable. For a novella, there was plenty of character arc for both Nick and Shae, and the epilogue gave us more to tie up any loose ends. I kinda wish we had more of a tie up for what happened to Shae’s ex, but I did love the conclusion of the mean girl Molly-she redeemed herself there, I think. Overall, super cute, pretty spicy but can definitely hold triggering plot lines so definitely make sure you’re in the correct space for that. The author does a great job of listing them in the beginning of the book, which is great, but I’ll add them here in case you are looking BEFORE you even decide to pick it up.

TW: domestic violence (not on page but described) including both verbal, physical and mental abuse.

Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz

3 Robots

This was…unexpected. Cute, hints of social discourse, lots of bots making noodles and figuring out their place in the new world they woke up to. Definitely could have been fleshed out more, made into a longer book, as there are some themes that kind of…fall off? Enjoyable and quick read.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST

Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar

5 freaking stars!!!

I have a love/hate relationship with true crime novels. Sometimes I feel like they are either over complicated, with legalese meant to confuse the reader and make the author feel like they are so much smarter than than the reader, OR , they are so dumbed down that I get bored very easily. This was neither of these. By the time I was halfway through the book, I had forgotten that this was a piece of fiction and not an ACTUAL true crime book. Chizmar does an excellent job of making the reader feel like we are indeed looking for a killer, that all of this actually happened. He keeps the idyllic nature of the small town in tact, while simultaneously showing the absolute horror that small towns can endure.

Richard Chizmar is a 20-something guy coming back to live with his parents in the summer of 1988, a few months before his wedding. He’s freshly graduated from college and his marriage to fiancé Kara is going to be in January. The timeline for all of this is important, since the murders happen during that summer. 4 young teen girls are abducted and murdered. All but 1 are sexually assaulted before death. But the police and FBI are completely stumped as there is no evidence at any of the sites. Chizmar and his friend Carly Albright, an up and coming journalist, begin to have their own investigation around the cops. Eventually, they are even stumped. 30 years later, the man is found and you will not even begin to believe who it is. Or will you?

I do have to admit I figured out who it was about halfway through but seeing it all spelled out still shocked me. And then I get to the authors note and am reminded that OH YEA! This didn’t actually happen but holy moly did the book feel like it did!!! I really really enjoyed this one. I would absolutely recommend you folks who like true crime and thrillers. This was a heck of a read.

Thank you to everyone who has read this blog in 2025! As always, to see other reviews, please check out my Goodreads page and follow me there too! On to 2026!!

Beautiful Things by Emily Rath

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4 out of 5 stars

Look, I like Emily Rath. I think her books have great representation for queer folks. Having read her most of her Jacksonville Rays series, all I could think about was how similar this book was to the first one, Pucking Around. Thinking about these both, I can see so many similarities, the only difference being one set in regency times and one set contemporarily. I have to say, I’m a little disappointed. I honestly believe that the FMC has WAY more chemistry with Burke than she does with the others, and I have a strong feeling that she is going to end up with only one, married, while the other two are “together” as they can be in this era, and it’s not going to be who I want it to be. Pucking Around, now that I’ve sat on it a bit more, had the same problem. I love Burke, I think he’s charismatic and has lots of development in the works. Lord James is just…there. I feel like Rath is forcing Rosalie to fee something for him but it’s so forced it’s painful. And Lieutenant Renley is great but again, I don’t see the chemistry there. Granted, he JUST figures out his feelings about another so that could be the issue. I guess I just need to get to the second book and figure out how it goes. For now, this is a solid 4 star.

The Nightmare before Kissmas by Sara Raasch

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5 out of 5 Candy Canes and Jack O’ Lanterns

Holy Christmas, Batman! I really enjoyed this one, and I read it to begin December, so it was PRIME Christmas storytelling-with a twist! Nicolas (Coal) and his brother, Kristopher, are the sons of Santa (or who we know as Santa, his name is never really given in the book). Coal, the oldest, is a bit of a troublemaker and we start the book with a major disaster that he created in an attempt to “help”, that came after the big break up between he and one of the Princesses of Easter. He’s known as a bit of a prankster, so it’s not seen as being helpful, just as him being himself and a screwup. Kris comes to find him in a bar and they get a phone call from dad, and just before Coal decides to go home, he ends up in the alley way and there is a hot guy back there – and things happen. But the guy disappears. Once Coal returns to his holiday, Christmas, there is a big PR stunt to get his image back by marrying him off to his best friend Iris (the other daughter of Easter)-who coincidentally is his brother’s crush. However, Halloween gets wind of this and objects, by sending their son, Hex Hallow, to Christmas to vie for Iris’s hand in marriage. The problem? Hex is the Alley Guy. Hijinks and conspiracies ensue.

I really enjoyed the idea that the Holidays are different realms with leaders, but that the people there are…people? Like Coal, Kris, Iris and Hex all go to universities in the real world (Yale, Cambridge, UNAM) and have actually studies and such. But they also have these realms of their respective holidays that has their own hierarchy, no dissimilar to royalty. I think the combination was super fun. I also loved that there was no Bi-erasure – Coal is bi. He likes women, he likes men, full stop-and it’s not seen as “other”, it just…is. Hex was so unexpected. After the alley scene, I totally expected him to be this badass, tough dude but he is a COMPLETE MARSHMALLOW OMG SOMEONE WRAP HIM UP! He was so sweet and so duty minded, but he was so afraid to show how he really felt about Coal at first. Iris is such a BAMF, she is so awesome. I need a story about her, honestly. She was such an amazing friend, but you could tell she absolutely needed someone in her corner. It would be cool to see what the fallout of the failed engagement between her sister and Coal affected Easter. Santa?? He can eat a bag of dicks. He was so awful. To an extent, I could see why he was doing what he did, but OMG he was such a terrible father to the boys in their later years. He definitely only used them for leverage instead of as his sons who were going to inherit Christmas. It was crazy.

I really did enjoy this. I actually met the author at a signing event for a different book entirely (not even in this series) and didn’t even realize it was her…and I owned this book already and hadn’t read it. I didn’t realize just how much I had missed out on! She is AMAZING and funny and so creative!!! I can’t wait to dive into more of her work!

First December read in the bag!

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Ok, so the first of my December reads is complete, and let me tell you…I hated it. I’m so sad too. Anyways, the review:

Title: Love is a War Song by Danica Nava

Rating: 2 stars

I had very high hopes for this. I wanted to like it. I had some good times in it! Really, I did. But OMG did I hate the FMC. Avery Fox is an up and coming pop star – who makes a SERIOUS faux pas with her music video, where she basically mocks Native American (or Indian, as they say in the book) culture, though she is Indian herself (Muscogee). Honestly, calling them Indians made me cringe, since many of my university colleagues have taught me to stray away from that, but the author is herself of the Chickasaw Nation and so I will defer to her own words as I go into this review. Anyways, her momager (think Kris Kardashian but like…meaner?) sends her to the reservation to be with her grandmother, Lottie…who she has NEVER met. Remember, this is a POP STAR who knows NOTHING about her heritage…being thrown into an environment where she ALREADY OFFENDED PEOPLE. Her mother made me so angry.
Enter Lucas Iron Eyes, ranch hand on Lottie’s Red Fox Ranch, where they board and keep some horses. Who already has preconceived notions about Avery and is so awful to her when they meet (though, not for lack of reasons).
Honestly, this whole book made me so frustrated because Avery would go from being a 20-something character to a spoiled 16 year old in like 2 sentences. I sincerely could not remember just how old she was throughout the book. Lucas, while he had some redemption in the end, was NOT someone I expected Avery to fall in love with (seriously? In one month??) but I definitely could see them as friends. I don’t think those two had a LICK of chemistry. Also, his parents suck too.
For those who are like “OMG ThE CeLlAr ScEnE”-again, there was NO CHEMISTRY, it was so wooden…I was cringing the whole time. I’ve seen way better spice scenes.
I dunno, this was just a whole lot of let down to me. I even didn’t really like Lottie. Like Avery was just dumped into this place where she knows absolutely nothing and Lottie does nothing to even help? What was the point of even agreeing to take her if you weren’t even going to try to make a relationship? Like I just…I didn’t like this book.

Apparently, the author also made a video for the song that Avery sings…so here is the link to the video if you care to watch it. I was just so underwhelmed by this. I wanted to like it SO BAD. Maybe I’m just jaded because of Stephen Graham Jones and Buffalo Hunter Hunter? IDK. This just wasn’t it for me.

On to the next! Probably some novellas, to kick start the holidays!

Rounding out November – readying for Christmas!

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Oh man! I read like 12 novellas between Black Flame and the two I’m posting today, so that was fun! I have about 6 library books I want to get through before December starts…I think I want to be in FULL FESTIVE BOOK READING by then!

But until then, here are two books I’ve read!

First up: The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fricassi

Stars: 10/10, no notes!

Amazing suspense, likable characters. Ride is the ultimate Final Girl, Badass. The kind of old person I strive to be one day. She was strong, independent but aware of her own faults. The older residents of the community were just as great. Having all the friends trying to figure out what was happening then going down like flies was crazy. I was actually getting genuinely mad about how they were dying and how the cops were just completely useless!! And Tatum! He was such a sweetheart. 🥹 This was such a great book. The twists and turns and just the creepiness of it all? Amazing. There were some supernatural elements too, but I enjoyed it overall. Would absolutely recommend to folks. Like seriously. Who would have thought a retirement home would be so exciting?!?

Second book: Playing Flirty by Shameez Patel

Stars: 5/5

Oh goodness me! I was coming off a small reading slump but this was the perfect book! I adored Rose (this is the second book in a row with the FMC being Rose) and I LOVED William. I especially loved that he went by that and not Will or Bill or anything else. William. I loved it. I knew right away that he liked Rose, and I figured out that he was her Gandalf early on but their chemistry, to me, was off the charts. I also loved that we got a little more on the side characters, like Neema and Shaun, and even a little of Lincoln and Claire. This was just such a feel good book. Even with her creeper boss and Patrick. He was…annoying and I was mad at him SO MUCH in this book! I even considered that he was cheating but nope, he really was just married to his work . I also appreciated the tease of spicy, it was definitely closed door spice but it was enough to know that they liked each other and fit well with each other. Rose’s parents were HILARIOUS and I loved them haha. Typical free spirited folks, though that trope of free parents and straight laced FMC gets a little old. Either way, this was a fun, quick read.

Well ok, that’s that for now! I will try and get a couple more in before the end of November, but in case I don’t, have a bountiful Harvest Day or Thanksgiving, whichever you celebrate!

Two, that’s right, TWO book reviews!

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Whew! I’m on a roll! I have not one, but TWO book reviews here! I’m part of the Probably Smut monthly book club (don’t @ me!) and I am finally all caught up and ready for September’s book! In the meantime, my reviews for both Shadowed Obsession (July) and The Bad Boy Rule (August) are here!

Shadowed Obsession – 2 stars

The nice thing about the PS book club is that we get GORGOUS special edition covers! This was no exception! The colors were *chefs kiss* Perfect! However, the inside of the book, the meat, if you will…left some to be desired. There were many a grammatical and editing mistakes that really take you out the book once you see them. Things like quotation marks not being completed, a whole PAGE being copy/pasted…it was just kind of a mess? The story line could have been stronger too, like the premise was great, but overall? Eh.

*sigh* I REALLY wanted to like this. The smut was smutting and the MC’s had some depth to themselves. But their actual chemistry went from “stalker/stalkee” to “domestic bliss” once the mask came off-literally. Not to mention times when italics were used and then just not turned off. At some point, the emphasis on the Spanish words was annoying. It’s just dialogue like any other, yet it’s italicized. Every. Single. Time. As a non-native Spanish speaker but a Chicana, this was probably the most irritating. In her effort to make the character not othered, she othered his language the whole book.

Unfortunately, those items made the book slightly unbearable and while I finished it, I really only did because the redeeming parts were alright. (See my Goodreads review here)

The Bad Boy Rule – 4 stars

Whew! That was…hot. Like fire! I think I spent more time tabbing all the dirty talk than paying attention to the plot!

Lennon is a socialite, someone who’s parents are the who’s who of New Orleans. She is incredibly privileged and knows it. She is also rebelling against her parents…the blinders are off after a series of events, including forcing her to quit ice skating, her one escape, forces her to acknowledge that her parents are grooming her to be a trophy wife, nothing more.

Saint is a hockey player who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. His adolescent years spent in a trailer with his mother and his abusive and alcoholic father, Saint is well aware that he could end up like his dad and is trying everything in his power not to be. So he gives himself a new persona, “The Playboy” and has sex with basically any girl but with one rule: no getting attached.

Our MC’s meet at…the skating rink. Because of COURSE they do. Of COURSE they have the same time slot by mistake! Lennon, in her effort to rebel, asks Saint to be her fake boyfriend, unknowing that Saint has his own reasons why he says yes. They begin to see that neither is what they seem.

Seriously, this was so good. The tension and the banter between Saint and Lennon was so good. There wasn’t TOO MUCH of the pet names, which can really make or break a book. The only issue this time? A couple of plot holes that really made me question my own sanity, and a couple of grammatical and editing errors. So because of those, this went from a 5 star to a 4. (To see this and other reviews, check out my Goodreads profile here)

Ok, that’s all folks! I am hoping to get to 100 books by the end of the year…I’m currently standing at 67! Can I do it?! YES I CAN!